Ukrainian Invasion: Putin's reasons for the invasion
Why is it important to look at Putin's speech? Russia invaded Ukraine and there must be a reason. Even if the reason is a power grab, it is still a reason. To understand the conflict is to understand Putin's reason for taking the action. If he wanted to "power grab" Ukraine he could have done it a few years back with lesser West support and when the county was in a weaker position. I, therefore, don't believe it is a power grab. There a more to this war than what the West and MSM want to tell us.
Putin raises the following points in his speech on 21 February 2022 to explain the capture of Ukraine by the West and if the trend continues, it will create a security risk for Russia. If he is correct, a similar situation unfolded with the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962 where America faced a security risk with the missiles the USSR planned to supply to Cuba.
1. The Maidan revolution of 2013
The Maidan revolution was to force the government to rather create a relationship with the West than with Russia. It was successful and the Ukrainian government at that stage collapsed. Establishing a better relationship with the democratic West should have resulted in a high level of democracy in Ukraine. Sadly it did not.
According to Putin it only opened the door for the penetration of foreign governments, NGOs, networks of foreign consultants and other institutions deployed in Ukraine. These bodies gain direct influence on all the important decision levels of government - from the centre down to the municipality level. Instead of fighting corruption, it only becomes worse.
2. Russians in Ukraine
A type of "apartheid" was created between the Ukrainian and Russian people in Ukraine. Those who deem themselves Russians are told that they do not belong in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government came up with instruments like sanctions against their own citizens, entities, media outlets, and parliament members.
3. Ukraine's new military strategy
In March of 2021, Ukraine adopted a new military strategy that aimed at confrontation with Russia. The Ukrainian government wants to drag foreign states into conflict with Russia. The strategy classifies rebellion groups in Russian Crimea and Donbas as terrorist groups to justify a war against them.
4. Ukraine's Nuclear capability
The Ukraine government wants to position itself as a nuclear power. They still have this technology from the Soviet times that make a move like this possible. If Ukraine has a weapon of mass destruction, the situation in the world will change drastically, especially Russia and Ukraine.
5. Military support from the West
Long before the conflict Western weapons have been pouring into Ukraine. The Ukrainian army’s activities are also governed by foreign consultants. Under the guise of war games, NATO countries’ military contingents were deployed in Ukraine. This resulted in military infrastructure being set up close to the borders of Russia - a large security risk.
6. The breakaway republics
The Donbas conflict started soon after the Maidan revolution. The Russian speaking Ukrainians in the east did not agree with the new government's direction away from Russia to the West. An attempt for peace by the Russian government was made to implement the resolution of the United Nations Security Council of 2202 that endorsed the Minsk agreements. The Ukrainian government keep on paying lip service to the agreement without taking any action to resolve the situation.
In conclusion
In general, Putin felt that the current development of Western support to Ukraine has one purpose and that is for NATO to deploy troops on the Russian border. Such a move will bring instability to the region and result in years of conflict. To ensure stability Ukraine needs to stand neutral in the tension between NATO and Russia. Due to the failure to implement the Minsk resolution, Russia's concerns were not addressed. Putin felt that the only way to go forward was to force Ukraine to the negotiation table to declare themselves neutral.
I do realise that this point of view is not aligned with the narrative given in MSM of the west. I would like to hear your comments on it and what my article failed to address.